Alaska's Historic Steese and Yukon­ Map Legend Charley Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Rivers Elliott Highways Birch Creek Bridge National f3 Tent Camping MP147.1 Preserve follow the historic mining trails rhat once guided Hiking Trail m __,_...,_ Lower Birch Creek Wayside a torrent ofprospectors into Alaska's heartland. 1 Explore the vasr landscape of the Grear Interior, mCanoe Access f m-e fJ [;1 l!HI MP 140.4 traditional homeland ofthe Athabascan people. !! Fishing Access Encounter 1.ocal people who still hum, trap, and fl Information mine in the same spirit as earlier Alaskans. C1 Parking In summer, wild rivers, hik ing trails, hot springs, l!HI Vault Toilet Steese Nationa l Conservation Area and public recreation cabins offer a diversity of North Unit outdoor pursuits. View the midnight sun, experience Pinnell Mountain the quiet beauty of alpine hi.I ls, and enjoy the National Recreation Trail friendline.ss ofonce-bustling gold rush towns. • In winter you may thrill to the sight ofthe aurora Bikers climb thro11gh t11ntlr11 on the Pinnell borealis crow11ing the night sky wbile traveling the Mo1111t11i11 Nt1tio1111l Recreation Trttil. ummit Wayside Eagle Summit Wayside MP85.5 Yukon­ spectacular White Mountains by dog team, skis, or MP 107.1 [D fl[;11!ID_ , Charley snowmobile. Relive the courage and fortitude of Rivers Interior Alaska's early travelers by followi ng the National · pper Birch Creek Wayside Yukon Quest loternational Sled Dog Race as the trail Preserve MP94 11!!1 weaves back and forth across the Steese Highway. !!fl~' Steese Highway This brochure introduces you to the outdoor recreation oppornu1i1ies on public lands mauaged by Alaska Route 6 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) along the Steese and Elliott highways. It also highlights sites of The Steese Highway begins in Fairbanks interest, including the visible remnants ofgold rush Cripple Creek Campgroiincl at the junction of the Richardson Highway Upper Chatanika River days, to make your journey a memorable one. MP 60 and Airport Way. In the following list, SLM­ State Recreation Site t'!m me11m1 I managed facilities are highlighted in blue. MP 39 U.S. Creek Road/ Davidson Ditch Bureau of Land Management MP 57.3 Fairbanks District Office fl [;1 lmJ Poker Flat Research Range 1150 University Avenue Trans-Alaska Pipeline MP 29.5 McKay Creek Trailhead Fairbanks, Alaska 99709-3844 Mile 8.4 (13.5 km) MP42.5 Local: 907-474-2200 A pipeline viewing site sponsored by the Alyeska Gold Dredge #3 DJ fl Chena Hot Sprin!:JS Toll Free: 1-800-437-7021 Pipeline Service Company provides information MP 28.6 www.blm.gov/ak displays and parking. } Chatanika Gold Camp MP 27.9 I Visit us on Facebook at: Gold Dredge #8 n·vel' Cleary Summit MP 20.3 www.facebook.com/BlMAlaska Mile 9.5 (15.3 km) 111· k(l "·~' -------, C/ra Hl Gold Dredge #8 Felix Pedro Monument Constructed in 1927, Gold Dredge #8 displaced s Follow us on Twitter at: MP9.5 MP16.5 www.twitter.com/BlMAlaska millions oftous ofgravel during 32 years of operation, creating symmetrical rows ofgravel Trans-Alaska Pipeline 0 5 10 15 20 25 M'I tailings that are still visible. Privately owned, it is on MP8.4 1 es the National Register of Historic Places. 5 1 15 2 Fairbanks. 0 o P Kilometers MPO Fox Mile 11 (17.7 km) Named for Fox Creek, this community was founded as a mining camp iu 1905. Turn right just before the Alaska Department ofTransportation weigh station to continue up the Steese Highway. Poker Flat Research Range Davidson Ditch A parking area on the right provides access to the Central Mile 29.5 (47.5 km) Mile 57.3 (92.2 km) Pinnell Mountain National Recreation Trai l and the Mile 127.8 (205.7 km) Felix Pedro Historic Monument Operated by the Geophysical lnstitute ofthe View part of the historic Davidson Ditch, a 90-mi le Circle-Fairbanks Historic Trail. Beware ofhigb This log cabin community on Crooked Creek Mile 16.5 (26.6 km) University of Alaska Fairbanks, this is the only system of inverted siphons and ditches completed wiJ1ds and rapidly changing weather conditions. remains the center of the region's mining activity Jn 1902 Felix Pedro became the first prospector to university-owned rocket launching faci lity in the in 1929. It carried wate-r from the Chatanika River Blowing snow sometimes closes this portion of and is home to the Central Mining District Museum. discover gold in this area. He made his way to E.T. world. Research on the aurora borealis (northern to Fairbanks to power the gold mining operations of the highway. For trai l details see BLM's Pi1111ell It is also a popular checkpoint on the Yukon Quest Barnette's Chena River camp for supplies, where lights) is the major focus. the F.E. Company. Mo1111rai11 Nalio11al Recreation 'Ii-ail brochure. International Sled Dog Race. word of his gold strike spread, and the ensuing gold rush led to the founding of Fairbanks. Well over 7 Upper Chatanika River State Recreation Site U.S. Creek Wayside/Road to White Upper Birch Creek Wayside Lower Birch Creek Wayside mil lion troy ounces of gold were eventually dredged Mile 39 (62.8 km) Mountains National Recreation Area Mile 94 (151 .3 km) Mile 140.4 (226 km) from the Tanana Valley. A picnic area, campground, and river access are Mile 57.3 (92.2 km) An access road to the right leads to Birch Creek An access road to the right leads 10 a parking area available at th.is site owued by the State ofAlaska. U.S. Creek Road cominues 7 miles (1 l km) to the National Wild River. It is a 110-mile (177 km) and Birch Creek National Wi ld River. This is the Cleary Summit Boaters can put in for a 20-mile (32 km) class J- 11 White Mountains National Recreation Area, where class 1- ll l float to Lower Birch Creek Wayside at first take-out point along the river. You can also put Mile 20.3 (32.7 km) float to mile ll (17.5 km) on the Elliott Highway. you may camp, pan for gold on Nome Creek, or hike milepost 140.4. Take a leisurely pace of7 to 10 days in here and take a day trip to the bridge at milepost From this high point at 2,233 feet (681 m), ihe White through boreal forest aud alpine tundra. Campsites to complete this primitive trip. 147 Steese Highway, a distance of 16 river mi les. Mountains and Yukon-Tanana Uplands are visible to McKay Creek Trailhead are available at Mount Prindle or Ophir Creek Th is class I section of the river meanders from here the north. The Circle- Fairbanks Historic Trail starts Mile 42.5 (68 km) campgrounds (fee sites) in Nome Creek valley, Eagle Summit Wayside and Pinnell down to the Yukon River. 4 miles (6.4 km) east ofhere on Fairbanks Creek Access is provided to 200 miles ofwinter trails and which also offers access and parking for Beaver Mountain National Recreation Trail Road and ends approximately 58 miles (93 km) later public recreational use cabins in the I-million-acre Creek Wild and Scenic River. Mile 107.1 (172.4 km) Birch Creek Bridge at Twelvemile Summit on the Steese Highway. White Mountains National Recreation Area. Parking area for the start ofthe 27-mile (43 km) Mile 147.1 (236.7 km) Cripple Creek Campground Pinnell Mountain National Recreation Trail. A river access easement is located on the right side Chatanika Gold Camp Mile 60 (96.6 km) Around the su mmer solstice (June 21), Eagle ofthe road just after the bridge. bi 2013 the State of Mile 27.9 (44.9 km) Overnight camping, a riverside day-use area, and Summit is one of Alaska's very few road-accessible Alaska completed a new boat ramp on the left side The Chatanika Gold Camp is the site of the historic fishing access are available, including universal locations below the Arctic Circle where you can ofthe road before the bridge. Boaters can travel the Fairban.ks Exploration (F.E.) Company gold camp design campsites. A class 1- 11 float trip to the Upper view the midnight sun. Enjoy the quarter-mile. 200 mi les to the Yukon River through private land and is listed on the National Register of Historic Chatanika State Recreation Site at milepost 39 is accessible, interpretive loop trail with a viewing and the Yukon Flats National Wild life Refuge. Places. The Tanana Valley Railroad carried supplies approximately 25 miles (40 km) long. Occasional deck . For more information see the BLM's l:."agle from Fairbanks to miners in the Chatanika area low water may require some boat dragging. Fee site. Summit: Wi11dow to !he Midnight Sun and Pi1111el/ Circle from 1905 to 1930. Mo1111/ai11 National Recreario11 Trail brochures. Mile 162 (260.7 km) Twelvemile Summit Wayside Eagle Summit is one ofthe most challenging The discovery ofgold on Birch Creek led to the Gold Dredge #3 Mile 85.5 (137 .6 km) portions of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest founding of Circle in 1893. Early residents thought Mile 28.6 (46 km) (elev. 2,982 feet/909 m) l nternational Sled Dog Race, which runs between the town was within the Arctic Circle, hence its Visible amid its tailings on the left side of the Early prospectors named this spot for its location, Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon. name, but it is actually 50 miles south.